Apparatus for correcting an ingrown nail

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for correcting an ingrown nail within a very short time (30 min to 1 hr) with a very simple operation and without pain. The apparatus contains an upstanding push-down member having at its lower end a push-down head; a laterally extending, lifting angle maintenance means secured at its middle portion to the push-down member; and lifting members (having anchors at their lower ends) extending downwardly from portions of the maintenance means which are opposite relative to the middle portion of the maintenance means at which the push-down member is secured. When the lifting members are placed under tension, the anchors secured to side portions of a nail are lifted to exert a lifting force on the side portions while causing the push-down member to push the middle portion of the nail in its thicknesswise direction.

Description

[0001]This application is a national stage entry of PCT / JP2008 / 052162 filed Feb. 8, 2008 and claims priority to Japanese patent 2007-127243 filed May 11, 2007.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to an apparatus for correcting an ingrown nail. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with an apparatus for correcting an ingrown nail by lifting a nail edge grown into a nail bed, which comprises: an upstanding push-down member having at a lower end thereof a push-down head; a laterally extending, lifting angle maintenance means which is secured, at a middle portion thereof, to the upstanding push-down member; and a pair of lifting members extending downwardly from respective portions of the lifting angle maintenance means, which portions are opposite relative to the middle portion of the lifting angle maintenance means at which the upstanding push-down member is secured, each lifting member having an anchor at a lower end thereof, wherein, in use of th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0017]By the use of the apparatus of the present invention, an ingrown nail can be surely corrected within a very short time, e.g., within about 30 minutes to about 1 hour, with a very simple operation and without causing pain to a patient. Therefore, the apparatus of the present invention is very effective and, hence, has a very high practicality.

Problems solved by technology

However, the surgical removal method is disadvantageous in that this method is complicated and cumbersome, and the nail plate is permanently narrowed.

Further, the surgical removal method has a problem in that, since a part of a nail which has grown or cut into the nail bed is cut away, the operation is difficult in the case where there is a danger of microbial infection.

Furthermore, even in the case of the surgical removal method in which a part of the nail is removed to cure the ingrown nail temporarily, a relapse of the ingrown nail often occurs because the nail after the surgery still has an anomalous curvature such that the nail grows again into the nail bed.

However, with respect to the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to satisfactorily correct an ingrown nail for the following reason.

Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory correcting effect.

Further, the correction of an ingrown nail by using this apparatus takes a very long time extending over a few or several months.

Since each of the post members of this apparatus has an upstanding portion, which renders this apparatus bulky, an ingrown nail patient who has this apparatus fitted thereon is forced to live a very cumbersome and inconvenient life for such a long period of time.

Thus, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is impractical.

In addition, the ingrown nail correction using this method takes a very long time extending over a few or several months, throughout which the correcting device remains fitted on the nail of the patient.

Thus, this method is very cumbersome and inconvenient to the patient.

Thus, this method is also very cumbersome and inconvenient to the patient.

This method has another problem in that, since the lateral side portions of an ingrown nail are held and pulled by the respective hooked end portions of the wires, pain and / or bleeding frequently occurs, thus increasing the burden on the patient.

In addition, this method has a defect in that this method cannot be applied when the nail to be corrected is too hard or too fragile or has tinea unguium.

The correction method described hereinabove has defects in that, since the operation is performed manually, the method is cumbersome and needs a high skill.

Also, this correction method poses the following problem.

However, in many or most cases, an ingrown nail patient has an ingrown nail cut to the quick; therefore, the correction of the ingrown nail cannot be performed until the ingrown nail has fully grown.

Thus, this correction method is disadvantageous in that very frequently, this correction method cannot be performed immediately after an ingrown nail patient has decided to undergo a nail correction using this method.

Therefore, if any of the conventional correcting devices or apparatuses are used on an ingrown nail in the softened state, the softened nail sustains too great a deforming stress (such as a buckling stress), so that the softened nail will suffer a drastic deformation, such as a drastic buckling.

As a result, the desired correction of an ingrown nail cannot be attained at all.

Thus, it is very difficult for any of these correcting apparatus and correcting device to be used for correcting an ingrown nail in the softened state into a desired shape.

Further, especially when the correcting device described in Patent Document 3 is used for correcting an ingrown nail in the softened state, the lateral pulling force (toward the center of the nail) is locally exerted only on the lateral side portions of the nail with which the hooked end portions of the wires are engaged, thus rendering it substantially impossible to correct the ingrown nail into a desired shape.

Further, even when the correction reagent used in the method described in Patent Document 4 is actually used in combination with any of the conventional correcting devices or apparatuses despite the disadvantages caused by the correction reagent, the above-mentioned problems accompanying the use of the conventional correcting devices or apparatuses remain unsolved, and substantially the same problems occur.

For example, even when the correction reagent used in the method described in Patent Document 4 is actually used in combination with the method described in Patent Document 2 (employing a plate made of a shape memory metal or resin), there occurs a problem in that the plate is likely to easily come off from the nail surface.Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,055.Patent Document 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Specification No.

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